Economic Development

City Planning

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DENVER – Mayor Michael B. Hancock today deployed a Peak Performance team into the Department of Excise and License to ensure cost-effective, timely service delivery as the city prepares to accept retail marijuana license applications beginning on Oct. 1.

The team, led by Deputy Legislative Director Stacie Loucks, will drive process improvements throughout the medical and retail marijuana licensing system. Focus areas for the team will be eliminating any residual backlog of eligible licensing applications, streamlining the application process in place, and coordinating the retail and medical marijuana processes.

“It’s our responsibility to get this right from Day One. That is why we are equipping Excise and License with the best resources possible to ensure a responsible and thoughtful licensing system for retail marijuana,” Mayor Hancock said. “Pairing our Peak Performance team with the Excise and License staff will establish solid protocols from the start and will set this department on the right path toward delivering efficient and effective customer service around this new industry.”
The Mayor also announced that he accepted the resignation of Excise and License Director Tom Downey. Denver’s Deputy Finance Director Gretchen Hollrah will step in to lead the department on an interim basis. She will oversee the administration of all business and liquor licensing for the city.
The goal for Hollrah and Loucks will be to deliver a predictable and accountable regulatory environment by facilitating collaboration among departments and between the city and the state.
“I promised to the people of Denver that we would continuously strive to make each and every department efficient and effective, delivering the highest quality resources at the lowest possible cost. The deep-dive into Excise and License will ultimately help the city become a better partner with our businesses,” the Mayor said.
In 2011, Mayor Hancock launched Peak Performance, which is a common sense, data-driven approach to running government more like a business. With more than 1,200 employees trained so far to identify and eliminate waste in the city’s processes, this initiative has identified nearly $20 million in efficiency savings over the past two years and made customer service a strong value within City Hall.